Real Salt Lake announces 2013 Preseason schedule

SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake has finalized plans for the club’s 2013 preseason schedule, which will include a pair of training camps in Arizona and one in California across six weeks in January and February, prior to the kickoff of the 2013 Major League Soccer campaign in early March.

The Claret-and-Cobalt will officially kick off its ninth season on Friday, Jan. 18, when players will report to Salt Lake City for entrance physicals. The team will stay in Salt Lake until Jan. 21, when the entire group will head to the home of the Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy at Grande Sports World just outside of Casa Grande, Ariz. RSL will train at Grande Sports World from Jan. 21-28.

After a short spell back in Utah, Real Salt Lake will head to the Los Angeles area for its second leg of spring training on Jan. 31. The team will train at the University of California-Irvine in Irvine, Calif. from Feb. 1-8.

The team will then head back to Utah again before returning Arizona on Feb. 11, this time for a two-week stint in Tucson for the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup preseason tournament. It will be RSL’s second-consecutive year in the round-robin competition, which will also feature MLS sides Seattle Sounders FC, New York Red Bulls and New England Revolution.

The FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup will kick off on Wednesday, Feb. 13 and will conclude with the Championship and 3rd Place matches on Saturday, Feb. 23. Fans interested in attending the premier MLS preseason tournament of 2013 can visit www.FCTucson.ticketsocket.com to secure their seats at the Kino Sports Complex and www.FCTucson.com/team/book-your-room-today/ to book discounted lodging in Tucson.

RSL will likely be without several players during various periods of the 2013 preseason due to national team duty. FW Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica), MF Kyle Beckerman (U.S.) and GK Nick Rimando could miss time in January and February due to CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying, while MF Luis Gil will almost certainly miss nearly the entirety of RSL’s preseason training while participating as a key figure in the United States’ U-20 National Team CONCACAF qualifying tournament for next Summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Following the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup, RSL will return to Utah to begin preparations for its MLS season opener, expected the weekend of March 2. MLS will release each team’s home-opening dates next week, with the full league schedule expected in early January.

Currently, the only way for fans to guarantee their seats at Rio Tinto Stadium for any of RSL’s 17 MLS home games is to “Join the Pride” by becoming an RSL Season Ticket Holder. Fans can purchase Season Tickets by visiting the "TICKETS" section of www.RealSaltLake.com or by calling 801-727-2700.